New version of Big Agnes Fly Creek

Big Agnes has redesigned the FC2, adding some volume and rejiggering the entry and vestibule. The best news: trail weight comes in at under 2 pounds. See the product page here.

As a current owner, the changes all look welcome.

Cheers,

I saw it yesterday at REI. More head room. wish it had a side entrance though. It was still nice

They re-did the one-person version, too. The additional headroom wasn't that appealing to me - I feel like I've got enough headroom in the current version I've got. However, it looks like (and they claim) that the straighter door will solve the real problem with the Fly Creek series: the angled door interacts with the vestibule door in such a way that, in the current version, the drip line for the vestibule door falls inside the tent.

Correcting that flaw might make me take a second look. (When my wife ISN'T looking!)

The wife and I are users of the original FC2 and it has served us well. Its a great double wall tent for 2 at the weight if you fit in it as we do. However IMO an even bigger problem with tents of this design is the problem with setting up in a steady rain. I am looking at trying something new this year and a I am between making something similar to an MLD duomid with an inner or buying one of the very pricey Zpacks Duplex. Both look like they have greater interior space and the weights are comparable or better. I am leaning toward the Duplex because the design with 2 walls being close to vertical allows for open doors when in a light rain. Also its a dual side entry as well. Oh and its hard to beat 21 oz. for a 2p.

What an appropriate post! We just got back from a trip where our FC2 fly tore in several places and is basically trash. We can't put a number of the nights on it, but it's North of 200, maybe even 300. I'm with Jimmy on a possible upgrade, but it has to happen NOW. We leave for the canyon and NM in 6 weeks, so a cottage mfg., might be out of the question. Looking at side entry and to lose some weight. If we can't come up with an alternative, the new FC will do. Thanks for the post.

Tarptent is really good about shipping promptly, if the item you want is in stock. I ordered a replacement Squall II a year ago and it was on my doorstep in three days! Of course calling to make sure the model you want is available is a good idea. If you want Henry to do the seam sealing for you, it may take longer.

How old is your Fly Creek? You might want to contact Big Agnes. I understand they have an outstanding warranty and repair program. More info here.

Bluefish,

bummer about the tent but seems it gave you guys lots of life. If a Cuben shelter might be in your future you could always give some of the companies a shout to see if they could fill an order for you. You never know, maybe they had a cancellation or a new return. If you don't need an inner net for your trip you could try out a sil Duomid from MLD. At 18 oz. and $260 it seems like a spacious shelter. You could always sell it and upgrade to a cuben model if you liked it. We still haven't decided but have till Aug. for a deadline for a trip to Wash. state but life is short and if I can shed some weight might as well do it ASAP. I am very tempted at making my own Mid from Cuben but an inner would be mandatory with the skeeters around here as you are well aware of. The simplicity of set up reeeally is attractive. I watched a video in a recent post on the winds in the trip reports on BPL and a couple had an HMG mid. Wicked fast set up in a hail storm. Good in strong winds. Heck if it was good enough for the Pharoahs....

Tarp tent has a new 2p protrail model called the Motrail. 36 oz. including stakes though, so its not gonna save any weight over a new FC2.

Have a great trip, stay safe

Thanks for the link OM, but our tent is in the neighborhood of 4-5 years old and had served us faithfully and is failing from age and normal wear and tear. We just warrantied a Neo-Air x-lite that's had a slow leak for 3 years. Couldn't find the leak, no matter how hard we tried. In nights with large temp variations it would go dead flat. Other nights , it would stay semi-inflated. Turned out it was a tiny seam leak and got fixed for free with apologies by Cascade Design. I didn't feel bad about using the warranty because we lived with the darn defect for the entire time we had it. BA owes us nothing. We can probably repair the rips, but I'm afraid more will appear elsewhere, if any experience with past older sil-nylon tents holds true. We also would like to have easier entry and a little more space for the weight. After some quick research last night, the Lightheart Duo is standing out to us, and appears to be available off the shelf. Not a great loss in weight, but much more usable room and storage. Jimmy, we are going to call around a little and see if anything has been cancelled on or if something can be mfg'ed quickly. The wife insists on a tent, no tarp, and we can deal with a few condensation issues with a single wall. We did the tarp thing for awhile, and the spider bites, dust and spindrift didn't endear them to my wife.
Full skeeter control, and relief from blackflies is a must. I think a tarp with separate inner is out. I spend a lot of time on ponds and beaver flows in the 'dacks and Vt. Thanks for the advice, and to all on the forum that shared there experience with shelters, I've learned a lot in my time here.

Edit: Pulled the trigger on the Lightheart Duo, it just looks to be a palace, has great reviews , price was well within the budget and it appears to be in stock. Hard to argue with that. It comes in at a few oz.s less than a new FC. I have no problem with the FC's weight, so it's a bonus!! Thanks to everyone's input , and to BrianLe for bringing this company to my attention. Had heard about them, but looked at them more closely after a recent mention. Once again, I was a happy Fly Creek owner, and would steer no one away from purchasing one, we just need an easier entry at this point in our hike. Thanks again to the forum.

My new Lightheart Duo arrives tomorrow (phenomenal service!) , and for what it's worth, Lightheart will no longer make anything from Cuben. That came from Judy Gross, the owner.

That was fast. Enjoy the new shelter. Be sure to let us know what the weight turns out to be.

Jimmy, it'll probably go from the package right to the scale. Can't wait to set it up, better yet, get it out on the trail. It'll see action this weekend, somewhere.

Well now, we're gonna expect a trail review too You gotta love the awning on that shelter. And for that weight the interior is BIG! Do you guys normally use and kind of ground sheet around here in the NE?

I hate to admit it, but yes, we used a footprint for the FC2. Any kind of groundcloth/footprint seems to be frowned on in backpacking circles now, but the longevity of our tent (tent itself is in great shape, UV probably did the fly in) and the fact we stayed dry in lots of wet forest campsites might speak to its effectiveness, despite the weight penalty. We've also never punctured an inflatable pad, including one that's 40 y.o. and one that's 25. We did use it for the fast pitch, fly and footprint set up, too. We'll use Tyvek for the Lightheart, but may skip it on occasion where weight is critical. I probably won't use the groundcloth when I use Gorilla tape to set the new shelter up in the dining room tonight. We just did a 30 mile trip in Bear Mt. /Harriman this past weekend, this weekend will be really local and short, as we have to back by 10am on Sunday. Still gives us quite a few choices for a 4-5 mile out one-way. Most likely the Lye Brook Wilderness outside of Manchester, above Lye Brook Falls- worth seeing if you haven't. Not quite mud season in Vt., but still pretty wet and mushy for winter!

Although I rarely use a footprint under my tent, I almost always take it. I mostly use it as a place to sit at breaks or in camp; sometimes I rig it (with my hiking poles or handy trees) as a small makeshift tarp for lunch in the rain, or a cooking shelter in camp (I don't feel safe cooking in the small vestibule of my Fly Creek 1, where the only way out is over the stove. The larger vestibule of my Copper Spur 1 is a different story - it's bigger, and I can cook off to one side of the exit.) NOTE: Having discussed cooking in a vestibule, I have to mention that I only do that as a last resort, when there's no other option. I don't recommend cooking in a vestibule.

If I'm pitching the tent on solid rock, I'll usually put the groundcloth down because of the abrasion potential (around here, "rock" is sandstone, which means there's always a layer of grit.) Also, if it's extremely muddy, or there appears to be a higher puncture risk, I'll put the groundcloth under the tent. But, on grass or forest duff, I rarely put the groundcloth under the tent.

I do use it for one other thing, in the rain. If it's raining when I pitch the tent (and no sign of stopping any time soon), I'll use the footprint-and-fly pitch to get the fly up, then put the inner tent up from the inside, to keep the inner tent a bit drier.

I have the Platinum FC2 and use a homemade footprint (kite Tyvek) because the floor fabric is so very thin. Even so it's had a small rip.

I don't generally use them but this tent warrants one.

Cheers,

We use kite tyvek with our FC2 as well. The tyvek is a little lighter than the original fly and I made it so it can work with a fast fly option as Glenn mentioned is handy when raining. As far as ground clothes being less than UL, so much of this depends on where you end up pitching your shelter. I will take the hit if it keeps my floor from turning into a kiddie pool.

I do like Glenn's multi use as a cooking tarp ect.

Good point re. site and conditions. At a soft meadow edge mine is fine, but in a typical rocky alpine site there are too many pokey things (a technical term, I'm sure) and abrasive surfaces. I'll check out the new model next time I'm at REI to see the floor fabric weight.

Cheers,

No, the TECHNICAL terms are "big pokey things" and "little pokey things." The generic "pokey things" lacks the requisite specificity.

Big and little pokey things are the terms used before they actually penetrate the tent floor and your 200 dollar inflatable pads. They subsequently become @#$%^&* pokey things, irrespective of size.

Jeez, am I ever embarrassed. ASTM (C803/C803M) grades them as pokus minimus and pokus maximus.

Or, referring to the ATSM standards cited by Rick, "pokus illegitimus."